Peyton Place

Book Description

When Grace Metalious's debut novel about the dark underside of a small, respectable New England town was published in 1956, it quickly soared to the top of the bestseller lists. A landmark in twentieth-century American popular culture, Peyton Place spawned a successful feature film and a long-running television series-the first prime-time soap opera.

Contemporary readers of Peyton Place will be captivated by its vivid characters, earthy prose, and shocking incidents. Through her riveting, uninhibited narrative, Metalious skillfully exposes the intricate social anatomy of a small community, examining the lives of its people -- their passions and vices, their ambitions and defeats, their passivity or violence, their secret hopes and kindnesses, their cohesiveness and rigidity, their struggles, and often their courage.

This new paperback edition of Peyton Place features an insightful introduction by Ardis Cameron that thoroughly examines the novel's treatment of class, gender, race, ethnicity, and power, and considers the book's influential place in American and New England literary history.

Customer Reviews:

Shocking 1950's Blockbuster Is Still A Pageturner .......2007-09-25

When PEYTON PLACE was published in the late 1950's it was a phenomenon. Those of us who are over forty or so still recognize the title as being synonymous with a locale filled with scandal and gossip. Aside from its historic notoriety this is a very readable novel with realistic characters and several intriguing plots.

The setting of the novel is Peyton Place, New Hampshire a small mill town in the 1930's and 1940's. The book focuses on several young people in the town as they grow from early adolescents to adulthood in this small hypocritical community. The female protagonist is Allison a young woman with literary ambitions. Allison's mother has a closely guarded secret about Allison's birth which will seem silly to modern readers but was apparently scandalous in the 50's. Allison's schoolmates include Selena, a smart ambitious girl from the "shacks" with a horrible secret of her own, Rodney the overly indulged son of the mill owner who rules the town and a nervous boy named Norman. This book is not just about teenagers though as the stories of their parents and other townspeople are also told. Serious problems and tragedies occur in the town and the writing is suspenseful enough to keep the reader turning the pages.

PEYTON PLACE is often compared to another novel of small town secrets KINGS ROW. Though PEYTON PLACE is not quite as well written as that novel they do share the theme of the hidden lives of respectable seeming small town residents. The hypocrisy of the residents and the fear many of them live in of being gossiped about and the choices they make to not "be talked about" are the two elements of PEYTON PLACE this reader will remember.

Other Books.......2007-09-03

A really pretty tame book about a particular town, where the author through an author character looks at the peccadilloes of various people in the town of the time.

These range from sex, to being a scumbag employer, to drunks, wife beaters, all the usual stuff you would expect to find in a place in the country, as the Great Detective would tell you.

Fairly dull.

A Great Piece of Pop Culture History.......2007-07-26

I read this book for a class I took on pop culture fiction and was pleasantly surprised. The book is set in a small New England town mysteriously called Peyton Place after a castle set high above the village. The book follows a wide array of the inhabitants of the town, from the upper crust that bring to mind images of southern gentlemen to the 'shack dwellers' straight out of hicksville, to the run of the mill guys and gals of the teenage set. The main message of course, is that nothing is ever quite as it seems...

With that in mind, the book is very much the predecessor to the soap operas of today. There are several main characters, but every character whether mentioned over a few scant pages or in every chapter, resonates in some way to the various climaxes sprinkled from start to finish. If you are a fan of soap operas, or even dramatic television, romantic novels, or chick lit, you'll find this book and its twisting and turning storylines extremely entertaining.

What the book is notorious for is its 'naughty bits', that were quite shocking for the time period it was written and distributed in (the 50's) and even moreso for the time period the book is set in (30's-50's). I can tell you the book doesn't disappoint in the sense that it is very willing to deal with sexuality and taboo subjects in a blunt matter - made even more interesting by the knowledge we have today of life for women in the 50's and 60's.

Overall this is a great book - there are far too many plot lines to delve into in a simple review like this, but you will not be disappointed if you are looking for a nice summer read or a engaging soapy page turner.

LIFE IN A QUIET TOWN .......2007-04-11

"Rodney Harrington, wearing a white jacket and with curly black hair well slicked down with water, sat on the edge of a chair in the Mckenzie living room. Constance had left him there while she went upstairs to see if Allison was ready, and now Rodney sat and stared morosely at the braided rug on the floor."

Thanks to Grace Metalious and Ardis Cameron we can now enjoy this book in print once again.
Peyton Place was one of the soap operas nobody wanted to miss when it was on televison. It was for this reason that I drew this book out to indulge in a bit of nostalgia.
It was a wonderful read with all our favourite characters, I could hardly put it down for too long. Hope others find that joy that I did reliving Peyton Place.
Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 11/04/07)

great book.......2007-02-13

What a great book!! The writing is fabulous!!! It's amazing what a "stir" it caused when it was first published years ago.

Inside Peyton Place: The Life of Grace Metalious (Banner Book)

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Exceptional biography
Peyton Place
Unexpected pleasure
A trailblazer in blue jeans

Inside Peyton Place: The Life of Grace Metalious (Banner Book)
Emily Toth
Manufacturer: University Press of Mississippi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1578062683

Customer Reviews:

Exceptional biography.......2007-01-06

I read Peyton Place at its fifty year mark for the first time, and thoroughly enjoyed it, as did my book group. The biography offered wonderful addenda to our discussion, and gave me a clear picture of Grace Metalious. It is very well written, and reads like a novel. Do both and do your book group a favor!

Peyton Place.......2001-11-10

This is a good book but can't say it "blows the stagnant 1950s" away (there were exposes before PP and after so it would be a stretch to say that it affected the 1950s in any way!) That being said, there's another book that PP fans should read (if you can find it: Girl from Peyton Place) and is a bio of Grace written in 1964 before the tv series premierred and after her death. Very good! One thing to say about PP it was the first popular nighttime soap (One Man's Family from the 50s aside) that had all of us talking the next day on our way to work about what those:"depraved people were doing in that dirty little town!" Anyhow, good to see someone taking an interest in this subject as the book and its movies and tv series' were cultural icons of the mid 20th century.

Unexpected pleasure.......2000-06-06

I picked up this book and thought it would be some old fashioned boring novel, I was verry surprised the book was sensational, I could not put it down. I am now reading Return to Peyton Place and am equally impressed. It is as current as any book written today. All things don't change.

A trailblazer in blue jeans.......2000-05-17

Grace Metalious said that she highly doubted if anyone would remember the title "Peyton Place" after her death. Sadly, she died in 1964, from alcoholism, less than ten years after Peyton Place was published. Emily Toth's biography is a fascinating and compelling story of how two women (Metalious and publisher Kitty Messner)rocked the publishing world with a book that many publishers scoffed at, and dismissed as trash. Toth reveals how timing and crafty publicity tactics started a sensational buzz about a book that was ripe for America's stagnant and sterile 1950's. It broke all records for book sales up to that time, and held that spot for over 10 years. The financial success was liberating yet highly troubling for Grace. It led to a broken marriage, several unhappy afairs, tensions with her family and a fatal addiction to alcohol. Once Peyton Place took off, it had a life of it's own. Although it was continually associated with Grace, she had no control over the popular movie or sensational television series. Grace Metalious was independent, outspoken, and certainly not a conformist. She broke all the rules, succeeded, yet paid a hefty price.

Key Geography Places: Scottish Edition (Key Geography for Key Stage 3)

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Key Geography Places: Scottish Edition (Key Geography for Key Stage 3)
David Waugh , Tony Bushell , Chris Peyton , and Alasdair McLelland
Manufacturer: Nelson Thornes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Really Enjoyed it!
No second place for this book ---- it rocks!
Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Just for the joy of reading
Hilarious Fun That Will Keep You Reading Through the Night...

The Queen of Second Place
Laura Peyton Roberts
Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0385731620
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Book Description

No matter how hard she tries, Cassie is always second best—in school, in life, and especially in love. And lately, Sterling Carter is always one pedicured step ahead of her. Cassie is used to it. Mostly. The problem is, right now she and Sterling both want Kevin Matthews. He’s only the hottest new student ever to grace their high school halls. And for the record, Cassie saw him first. But, naturally, Sterling wants him. So Cassie might as well just give up now.

Except who says Cassie can’t have an equal chance too? Just because she’s been in second place all her life doesn’t mean things can’t change. . . .

Customer Reviews:

Really Enjoyed it!.......2006-08-20

This is a good book. You really feel like you know the main character. Almost as if she's your friend. After I read this book I picked up this author's second book, Queen B, but haven't finished it yet. I also picked up another book, Alpha Dog by Jennifer Ziegler, to read during the summer and thought it was great. It's another book about a girl who feels she's never quite good enough.

No second place for this book ---- it rocks!.......2006-05-31

Although a little slow at the beginning, Queen of Second Place has become my favorite book. I can totally relate to Cassie; my mom, after reading it told me that she could imagine me saying some of the things that Cassie said. I especially loved the part about how everyone's talent helped Cassie (almost) become Snow Queen. Fitz was hilarious! Overall, a GREAT, easy read.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2006-04-26

There's just something about reading stories that you can relate to that make them a joy to read. As someone who grew up feeling like her own version of THE QUEEN OF SECOND PLACE, relating to Cassie Howard was easy. She's pretty, she has friends, she's been on a date or two, she gets good grades--etc., etc., etc. But for Cassie, being a second-bester isn't good enough. She's looking for A-List status, for the admiration of her peers and, maybe more importantly, for her own self-worth.

When she falls in love at first sight--yet again--with the new boy who has transferred to her school, Cassie knows that sophomore year will never be the same. She's determined that this time, for once, she'll be the one coming out on top, at least where Kevin Matthews is concerned. But no sooner does Cassie catch Kevin's attention than her nemesis, Sterling "Fourteen-Karat" Carter, moves in for the kill.

Throughout the story, it's never quite clear if Sterling is as unabashedly vicious as she is out of jealousy or just pure spite. When she learns of Cassie's interest in Kevin, Sterling is, of course, even more interested in landing him as her boyfriend. As Cassie becomes more and more desperate to gain the first place position in this one thing, more important than any that has come before it, her values and morals somehow fall by the wayside. Suddenly she's driving a car without a license, she's plagiarizing parts of a one-act play, she's ditching her friends to work out yet another scheme to get Kevin to notice her.

As Cassie's plans backfire and even second place seems a long way away, it's up to her to realize that people might actually have more than one talent. As her self-assurance and self-confidence both take a tumble and grow as never before, Cassie might just learn that second place doesn't always mean losing, and that good things do come to those who wait.

THE QUEEN OF SECOND PLACE is a thoroughly entertaining, enjoyable read. True to life characters and engaging dialogue make this book a winner, and, if you're like me, you'll be looking forward to reading more about Cassie and her high-school adventures in Queen B, scheduled for release in July 2006.

Just for the joy of reading.......2006-01-04

Sophomore Cassie Howard is used to being second place. She has been her whole life. When Cassie meets Kevin Matthews, the new boy, in her sophomore Honors English class, she vows that she will come in first this time. But when her school nemesis, Sterling Carter, decides to move in on her crush first, Cassie decides to take action. Cheating on school assignments, taking her father's car without permission, and betraying her friends all to try and win the attention of Kevin. Sterling, a.k.a. Fourteen-Karat, is of course one of those perfect girls that everyone wants to be best friend of and secretly despises. Through her desperate schemes, Cassie ends up making a mess of everything-including losing her best friends along the way. Will the queen of second place finally win what she wants most? As Cassie tries to solve the problems she created, she learns the meaning of real friends, her own capabilities, as well as self-confidence.

The Queen of Second Place by Laura Peyton Roberts is a great book to read on a rainy day. Although the plot is clichéd and Cassie's antics are not surprising, Roberts makes the novel enjoyable through her creative writing. Even though the reader can predict exactly what will happen next, there's still something in this novel that makes the reader want to read on. If you're the person that enjoys a pointless novel just for the joy of reading, then this is the book for you.

Reviewed by a student reviewer for Flamingnet Book Reviews
www.flamingnet.com
Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations

Hilarious Fun That Will Keep You Reading Through the Night..........2005-11-30

Cassie Howard is used to be second best. Ever since she was a small child, she has never been number one. Nope, she's always come just shy of holding the title of numero uno, and has always fallen into number two. And, lets face it, after years of riding someone else's coattails, Cassie plans on being number one at something. Something good. But with Sterling Carter, that dream seems near impossible to ever reach. Sterling Carter is perfect, from her glamorous tresses, right down to her pedicured toes. Sterling has never been second place in anything, which is why Cassie knows that her new endeavor will land her behind Sterling, once again. You see, Cassie and Sterling are both vying for the attentions of the same guy: Kevin Matthews, and while Sterling will do anything sneaky and underhanded to win his love, Cassie is about to take a trip down clueless lane, that is sure to teach her never to try and beat Sterling at her own game.

Laura Peyton Roberts has done an amazing job with THE QUEEN OF SECOND PLACE. Following closely in Meg Cabot's footsteps, Roberts' Cassie could easily be the step-sister of Cabot's Princess Mia. Cassie's story is told in a batch of useless essays written during her stint in detention, and narrated by Cassie herself, who brings readers through a tale of a twisted love affair, a boy who can halt any line - be it the lunch line, or the line at the movies - a girl who rips out the tags from her jeans so no one knows what size she truly is, and a guy who can find a perfect parking spot at the drop of a hat. Hilarious fun. Reading about the highs and lows Cassie encounters each day will make you as giddy as two shots of espresso!

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Return to Peyton Place (Hardscrabble Books)

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Return to Peyton Place (Hardscrabble Books)
Grace Metalious , and Ardis Cameron
Manufacturer: Northeastern
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1555536697

Book Description

In 1956 Grace Metalious published Peyton Place, the novel that unbuttoned the straitlaced New England of the popular imagination, transformed the publishing industry, topped the bestseller lists for more than a year, and made its young author one of the most talked-about people in America. In 1959 the sizzling sequel, Return to Peyton Place, picked up where Peyton Place left off: Allison MacKenzie, now the author of America's #1 bestseller, is thrown into the glamorous whirl of the smart set of New York and Hollywood. At home, the rest of the most controversial characters in 1950s American fiction continue to create a stir in this ongoing expose of sex, hypocrisy, social inequity, and class privilege in contemporary America. Peyton Place, the small, seemingly respectable New England town, is revealed as a vividly realistic cauldron of secrets and scandal. Peyton Place and its sequel, Return to Peyton Place, the books that readers used to hide under their mattresses, are now recognized by scholars as the Silent Generation's Perfect Storm and predecessors to the women's liberation movement. Treat yourself to this rediscovered classic.

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Peyton Place
Metalious Grace
Manufacturer: Julian Messner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Peyton Place

ASIN: B000IL0XP8

The Girl from 'Peyton Place': A Biography of Grace Metalious

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The Girl from 'Peyton Place': A Biography of Grace Metalious
George Metalious , and June O'Shea
Manufacturer: Dell Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: B0007F1AYI

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Don't judge a book by its title
Missing something...
Reality Versus Fiction
A Graceful Air-Brush of Literary Panache, with Warmth, Redemption, Sex, and Soul Wash
Looking for the last page already

Looking for Peyton Place: A Novel
Barbara Delinsky
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743469860
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Book Description

A picture-perfect New Hampshire town hides a history of scandal and intrigue -- a legacy Annie Barnes has never shaken since growing up in tiny Middle River. Five decades ago the area was rocked by a bombshell of a book, Peyton Place, and its author, Grace Metalious, who seemed to know everyone's most intimate secrets. Now a bestselling novelist herself, Annie has come home to find answers to the strange circumstances of her mother's recent death, which leads her to uncover a shocking truth about the local paper mill. The townspeople fear Annie intends to pen a Peyton Place of her very own, and no one wants her stirring up trouble. But one intriguing man is captivated by Annie's determined spirit -- and he wants to give the people of Middle River something to talk about....

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"For Annie Barnes, going home to Middle River means dealing with truths long hidden, some of which she buried there herself. But it is a journey she knows she must take if she is to put to rest, once and for all, her misgivings about her mother's recent death. To an outsider, Middle River is a picture-perfect New Hampshire town. But Annie grew up there, and she knows all its secrets -- as did her idol Grace Metalious, author of the infamous novel Peyton Place, which laid a small town's sexual secrets bare for all the world to see. Though Grace actually lived in a nearby town, the residents of Middle River have always believed she used them as the model for her revolutionary novel, and some even insist Annie's grandmother was the model for one of Grace's most scandalous characters. With these rumors and whispers about Peyton Place haunting her childhood, Annie came to identify so closely with the author that it was Grace and her bold rebellion against 1950s conformity that inspired Annie to get out of Middle River and make a life for herself in Washington, D.C. It's been a good life, too. Annie Barnes is now a bestselling author, reaching that level with only her third novel. Success has given her a confidence she never had as a young girl in Middle River -- and it has given the residents of that town something new to worry about. When they hear Annie is returning for a lengthy visit, everyone, including Annie's two sisters, believes she's coming home to write about them. Though amused by the discomfort she causes in Middle River, Annie has no intention of writing a novel about the town or its people. It is her mother's death -- under circumstances that don't quite add up -- that has brought her back, and soon her probing questions start to make people nervous. When she discovers evidence of dangerous pollutants emanating from the local paper mill -- poisons that she comes to believe contributed to her mother's fatal illness -- Annie finds herself at odds with most of the town's inhabitants, including her sisters, both of whom are seemingly unfazed by the incriminating evidence she uncovers. Because the mill is the town's main employer, everyone is afraid of what might happen if Annie digs deeper, and their fears soon start to turn ugly. For Annie, though, there is no turning back, as passion and rage propel her forward in a determined quest. Coming face-to-face with decades of secrets and lies, she knows she must find the strength to move beyond the legacy of Grace Metalious, defying her past to heal the wounds of the town and her own family. "

Customer Reviews:

Don't judge a book by its title.......2007-07-04

This novel isn't a copy of Peyton Place, but takes the essence of Metalious' novel and adds a suspensful twist. A woman uncovers the truth behind her mother's death and about what's been causing all of her hometown's inhabitants to become ill. A well crafted supense novel with some romance-- and a very telling story about small factory towns. I give it 3 1/2 stars.

Missing something..........2007-05-09

It was like drinking decaffeinated coffee...it lacks that ...oomphh. Didn't think the plot was that compelling. An editor should've chiseled it down by 200 pages.

Reality Versus Fiction.......2007-04-05

Some of the main character's experiences may have you wondering if any of this novel is autobiographical. The relational dynamics make a real-life backdrop for this boy meets girl story.

A Graceful Air-Brush of Literary Panache, with Warmth, Redemption, Sex, and Soul Wash.......2007-01-27

Delinsky's writing style unfailingly provides immediate, engrossing reading. This unique novel continued that legacy. The first paragraphs of the prologue warmed me into the book, and I looked forward to each parenthesis in time during which I'd be able to return to the read.

Before I began reading LOOKING FOR PEYTON PLACE, I was confused about where to place the fulcrum between what appeared to be a balance of autobiography & fiction. A quick check of the title page showed that the book was categorized as fiction. Reading into the prologue, I was able to discriminate how the deceased Grace Metalious was woven through Annie Bank's reality (this novel's fictional character), as opposed to being woven through Barbara Delinsky's reality. Part of the confusion (and the appeal) had to do with Delinsky's photo on the hardcover book jacket relating uncannily to the one of Grace, and to the artistic representation of Annie.

The reality Vs. fiction questions played out as a unique type of intrigue, which continued percolating even after I had settled into accepting the story as fiction. I couldn't help speculating how Annie's feelings and actions might have been lifted from Barbara's younger life/career, and blended into her current seasoning as an author. Contemplating Annie and Barbara's similarities and differences added to the story's charisma. I, and probably many other readers, was also mesmerized by a First Person Narrative of a writer dramatizing how she thinks through, and goes about writing a book.

Throughout this plot, Annie was repeatedly asked (in essence), "Are you going to write our shames and shambles into a book?" The interjections of that question, posed in various words and ways, continued to feed my curiosity about "would she" ... or, "did she" write that book (in this one). I imagine that this draw of curiosity was Delinsky's intent, which, in my case, worked.

Parallel situations from my life to Annie's also worked to enhance my enjoyment of this exquisitely designed plot and writing style, which was subtly and sensually different from any of Delinsky's other novels. Yet, initially (my reason for avoiding reading this novel sooner) I was put off by the environmental ploy of mercury poisoning of local residents by a small town mill. My life has run a course on a somewhat reverse-flip of good/evil of Delinsky's redeemed Norman Rockwell photo of small town life in Middle River, presented as a parallel to "Peyton Place," as the 50's novel was re-vamped, modernized, and cleaned up in Delinsky's "upgrade."

My husband has worked his lifetime in coal mines. We are loyal friends of industry, and have been blessed to be repeatedly employed by what we see as heroic "good guys" in charge of and in ownership of the several mines at which Tom has worked. It was very rare that anyone we knew came anywhere near the type of villainy dramatized through Sandy and Aidan Meade; most of our cohorts in the industry were of the James Meade character type.

As I continued into the story, with the welcome background of having reviewed many previous Delinsky novels, I was hoping for this one to have applied this author's honed talent of accurately separating good from evil, in the currently slimed (by media and terrorism) industrial arenas of milling and mining. Delinsky accomplished more than I would have thought possible, given our pervasive cultural climate of anti-capitalism, anti-industry; she successfully exposed how easy it can be to hurriedly mark something as evil, then blindly bully through a lumped-together package, with no motivation or effort to discriminate nuances, to accurately focus boarders between light and dark, value and corruption.

What held my reading most strongly, though, was the easy flowing, colloquial-narrative-style, enhanced by the bright duality of "voice" of Grace Metalious communicating with Annie from "beyond the grave."

This novel was a courageous evolution of not only Barbara Delinsky's writing talent and natural psychological wisdom; it was a courageous exposure of what appeared to be Barbara's (as well as Annie's) personal foibles given with endearing self-awareness of personality flaws and sparks.

I'm speculating that LOOKING FOR PEYTON PLACE may be too solid of a literary offering to be recognized widely and immediately for its subtle glamor in nuance of worth. This is a slow-simmer winner. Some of the rest of Delinsky's fine repertoire might fade slightly over millenniums of time. This one, though, could slide through each barrier between alternate ages and endure, mostly because it's a warm, unadulterated look into the mind of a healthy author (Barbara Delinsky), accompanied by the tortured but redeemed soul of yet another author (Grace Metalious) who was ahead of her time and fell into sorrow and separation instead of rising with her contribution to literary annals.

I'm almost chilled with an enormous sense of loss, when I think that this novel might not have been written or published exactly as is. Prior to reading this novel, I wouldn't have believed I could enjoy it as I did, and come away healed in the areas the story addressed. Whatever a reader's reservations are about being enthusiastically entertained by this novel, he should set them aside and dive in.

Yet, I'm haunted by the awareness that in reality and with real people it's not this easy (and it wasn't easy at all in the novel!) to separate good from evil in business and industry (or anywhere). It's too commonly automatic to allow anger, spite, and past wounds to run the shows and pursuits in life, as I believe is too often the case with environmental terrorism, possibly any type of terrorism, and with many causes which become so heated by pseudo self-righteousness, and compulsions to act as avenging (dark) angels, that evil begets evil, in the name of good. The result is that innocent, hard working people suffer most from the heart-wrenching rabble left from rousers (especially from those who've made a career of rousing).

In the case of my small town history based on the coal mining industry, our current plight (blight) swirls around a few wealthy new-settlers who retired to our area, combined with (or agitated by) career activists who are not from our area, who do not intend to reside there, yet who desire to rid our area of an industry which is far cleaner than the activists' motives or methods, driven by seething hatred which they "see" as self-righteous honor (from my vantage point, it's a sick type of "honor" which can be seen clearly only when looking through a glass darkly).

My plea to our species is to please be careful, maybe even compassionate, prior to pushing ways and beliefs onto others, especially when that force desecrates a people's history, along with its means of living and surviving.

Is jumping to conclusions our greatest habitual evil?

Might this be especially so when that (lack of) thought pattern results in acting upon "facts" which are not facts, and implementing destructive means to control life, to the ultimate point of human de-evolution?

In this novel the author has at least attempted to show how important it can be to take time to gain a true perspective cleared of personal vendettas, prior to methodically working to destroy someone else's way of life or economic structure of well-being. Sometimes perspective gained means mad motivation lost.

Delinsky has my appreciation for what she's accomplished and exposed in LOOKING FOR PEYTON PLACE. The exposure of which I'm speaking has nothing to do with Mercury poisoning or similar issues (though the alternative cure was interesting). It has to do with exposing how personal motivations can so easily seat-in to drive causes and cloud issues with a blindly horrifying force for destruction.

With those issues attended, I can conclude in good conscience that this was a moving piece of literature, an engrossing, entertaining read laced with an appealingly unique literary style.

Speaking of literary style, I should note that novels which use First Person Narrative can be too easily flawed by an irritatingly disruptive reading rhythm, when they're laced with interjected segments of Third Person Narrative. This novel accomplishes this difficult type of transition from differing points-of-view much better than most I've read. The narrative style here has light whiffs of similarity to Sue Grafton's "S" is for SILENCE and James A. Michener's THE NOVEL (both of which I've reviewed). My favorite use of narrative style is either an uninterrupted First Person, which has been generally mastered by the detective novel genre as a common choice of narrative. My personal favorite of that style (used without alternate-view-interjections) has been mastered absolutely by Robert B. Parker in his Spenser series.

What Delinsky has done in the First Person segments in this novel has edged beyond mastery, and has exquisitely captured the narrator's personality through her naturally-spiced speech patterns. The result is that Annie Banks' voice and spirit lives through the words of this story.

In an interesting Afterword, the publisher provided a short history of Grace Metalious and PEYTON PLACE, including a summary of that novel's plot, which was helpful to me since I've not read PEYTON PLACE. Each time I've approached the book I've felt overwhelmed by a sense of artful hollowness. Yet, I know that Grace was a rare and highly skilled author of uncanny talent. I know I would drool over the literary luxury in her words. But I'm rarely in the mood to willingly depress myself, which is why I'm thankful to have read Delinsky's book, including the Acknowledgments and Afterword.

I recommend this novel for its reading appeal, as well as its value as an offering of good literature traversing multiple layers, levels, and ages.

Linda Shelnutt

Looking for the last page already.......2006-08-15

It took well over 500 pages to write what should have been written in 300 or so pages, and in those last 200 pages, my interest was sorely flagging.

I didn't find Annie particularly compelling on any level. Her personality, while supposedly she was the town pariah since her teens, was more milquetoast than troublemaker. How an entire town could come to despise her for vague things she did when she was young is beyond my comprehension.

The exchanges between Annie and Grace Metalious were bizarre, and I didn't buy that they were the product of a creative writer-type.

Frankly, I felt that the author basically used Ms. Metalious and her novel Peyton Place to piggyback on to sell this mediocre novel of her own.

I would only recommend this book to a masochist.

Average customer rating:

Peyton Place (#F61)

Manufacturer: Dell Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GR6SQC

Average customer rating:

Peyton Place
Grace Metalious
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000L2HAUK

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